The DPRT team patrolling Puri sea beach on Saturday
BHUBANESWAR: As a large number of tourists are expected to arrive in Puri for the Rath Yatra this year, the Puri Police have set up a drowning prevention and rescue team (DPRT) to provide emergency services to the people visiting the sea beach.
DPRT was deployed on the beach during Snana Yatra and the personnel had rescued five tourists from drowning. The team is being supervised by an Additional SP rank officer and the Puri sea beach has been divided into six zones. The team consists of Odisha Fire Service personnel, about 40 lifeguards and an ambulance to handle any untoward incident on the beach.
“On normal days, only lifeguards are deployed for rescue operations. However, DPRT has been formed for Rath Yatra and the personnel have been tasked to monitor the tourists and rush to their rescue in case of any emergency,” said Puri SP Kanwar Vishal Singh.
Prior to Rath Yatra, the team will be deployed during the Nabajouban darshan of the Trinity. Besides this, the Puri Police will set up 25 tourist aid posts on the highway, in the town and on the beach to instantly address the grievances of visitors during Rath Yatra. “Each police aid post will have one officer and two to three constables. They will be equipped with VHF sets to share any information with the senior officers,” said Singh.
